


Waltzing

by Nat1es



Category: Star Trek: Discovery
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Michael has anxiety, Party, a smidge of angst, but no mudd
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:53:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25943887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nat1es/pseuds/Nat1es
Summary: Sylvia thought Michael would be at the party.
Relationships: Michael Burnham & Sylvia Tilly, Michael Burnham/Sylvia Tilly
Kudos: 25
Collections: Star Trek Bingo Summer 2020





	Waltzing

**Author's Note:**

> Written for The Star Trek Bingo 
> 
> Prompt: Music/Instruments

The crew of the  _ Discovery  _ was having a party. Again. But this time, Mudd wasn’t going to ruin it. The main rec room had been cleared out, leaving the floor space open. To accommodate everyone’s individual musical tastes, earbuds had been provided so that each person could listen to their preferred music choice. To an outsider, it might’ve looked like they were all delirious because each person was secluded in their own little world of music. 

Bryce and Reese were waltzing together on the outskirts of the crowd while Sylvia and the girls were partying it out in the center listening to some club remixes. Stamets and Culber were sitting at a table near the wall listening to Kasseelian opera and gazing into each other’s eyes in that lovey-dovey way that was seldom seen from them. Michael was nowhere to be found. 

Sylvia had gotten her to promise earlier that day that she’d show up, but as far as she could tell, Michael hadn’t even left the science lab that she had been working in. Another half-hour passed before Sylvia grew impatient. 

“Hey guys, I’m just gonna go to the ladies’ room, be back in a few.” She managed to get out, leaving before getting any confirmation that they had heard her. 

Music still blasting in her ears, she moved down the dimly - lit halls of the  _ Discovery.  _ Seeing the ship like this always felt surreal. The lights were set to replicate patterns of day and night on Earth, and because Sylvia worked Alpha shift she rarely got to see the darker tones that the  _ Discovery _ took on while she was sleeping. 

First, she went to the science lab that she had last seen Michael in. She stepped in, and the lights brightened when they sensed her presence. No Michael here. Frustrated, Sylvia went to their shared room to see if she could find her there. The music playing in her ears seemed to match the rhythm of her heart as she sped down the hall, beating faster and faster. No Michael here either, and when Sylvia inspected the room a bit more she found Michael’s communicator lying on her bed. 

Damn. Sylvia sat down on her own bed and pulled out her earbuds (which were still playing the same pulsing rhythm), feeling tears start to prickle at the corners of her eyes. She had really been looking forward to this. To maybe seeing Michael finally lose just a bit of that Vulcan control, maybe even enough to - no, that was enough of  _ that _ trainwreck of a thought process. 

Sighing, she put her earbuds back in and told them to play her “Sadness” playlist. She felt like moping. The sad sounds washed over her, enveloping her until she finally let the first tear fall. It slid down her cheek then fell onto her open palm. It was the first drop of a waterfall. She let all semblance of composure go then, crying and sniffling and taking gasping breaths, the lyrics of the songs encouraging her softly, justifying her disappointment, guiding her through her thoughts and feelings. 

Once she had let it all out, she pulled out her earbuds and thanked them silently for the music that they had given her. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve. She still needed to find Michael. Full of resolution now, she went through all the main areas of the ship that she knew Michael usually spent time in until she came across Observation Deck Three. It wasn’t as big as the other two observation decks so it was never as crowded. Tonight, there was only one person in the room. They were facing the window, and Sylvia could recognize the silhouette as she moved closer. 

“Michael?” She asked. Michael tensed her shoulders in surprise. She was out of uniform, wearing an outfit that Sylvia had helped her pick out at some point when they had gone shopping together. 

“Oh wait sorry, didn’t mean to scare you or anything, just, why are you here I mean you kinda promised you would come to the party and Stamets hasn’t told me about any time loop yet so I think we’re safe so, you know, no pressure or anything but why didn’t you come?” Sylvia asked - or - babbled, really.

Michael turned to face her, her beautiful brown eyes full of questions, “How long did it take you to find me?” 

“What? I mean, about half an hour or so, you know, if you don’t count the little detour I took to our room where I  _ cried  _ my  _ eyes _ out because I couldn’t find you and I thought that you had - no wait sorry that was too much I shouldn’t have said that.” Sylvia said in a rush.

Michael’s eyes widened in panic. “Really? No, I’m sorry, I didn’t know that it meant that much to you, uh - do you want to go over there now?”

“Um yeah, sure, definitely, just one - no, two questions, first, what do you mean  _ you didn’t know that it meant that much to me, _ it meant the world to me, I made you  _ pinky promise, _ how could you have thought that I wouldn’t care if you came or not?”

Michael stiffened a bit at that before opening her mouth to speak. 

Sylvia cut her off before she could say anything. “No, let me get the rest of this out first. Why did you hide from me? You’re never on this part of the ship, so you can’t just say that you wanted to look at the stars or something like that, because I  _ know _ that the other two observation decks are closer to our room  _ and _ the science labs.”

Michael nodded before starting. “Ok, I understand now that you really wanted me there. It’s just that I get nervous at parties. I don’t know if you noticed last time but I was pretty out of my element. They don’t really have those kinds of things on Vulcan and they’ve always made me - uncomfortable. I don’t know how to act, I can’t concentrate with all the lights and everything and I usually just end up leaving early without anyone noticing.” She paused and looked down at the floor. “I kept on telling myself that I was gonna go and then I would get worked up about it and just sit there, so eventually I got up and wandered over here.”

Oh. How could Sylvia have been so stupid? “Ok. Well, I mean, if you want alone time, of course, I’ll let you have it, don’t worry, I shouldn’t have pressured you into going or anything, I’ll just go back to the party now if that’s what you want.” Sylvia got out after a moment. She turned to leave.

“Wait. Do you want to stay? Or, you know, I could come with you maybe?” Michael asked, her voice a bit desperate. 

Sylvia sighed. “Hey, you already said that parties make you uncomfortable. And do you really want me to stay? I will if you want me to.” 

“Of course I want you to stay Sylvia, I don’t know where I would be without you. I get that you want to go though”

“Wait, really? I would choose you over any silly party, Michael” Sylvia said in a rush. Suddenly an idea dawned on her. “Come over here.”

“Sylvia I -”

“No buts. Come here.”

She pulled her earbuds out of her pocket and placed one in Michael’s hands. “Put this in.”

They each put their earbud in, Michael looking at her questioningly, and Sylvia placed her hands around Michael’s waist. 

“You know how to do this one, right? I remember Tyler teaching you.”

“Yeah, I think I remember.” Michael had a soft smile on her lips. 

“Computer,” Sylvia told the earbuds, “Play a waltz”

The music started and they danced together, letting the music overtake them, swaying in each other’s arms. 

**Author's Note:**

> aw they're so cute
> 
> Thanks for reading! Constructive criticism is always welcome.


End file.
